In the UK not many people go to university/college but instead will just get an apprenticeship and go straight to work. This could happen at either 18 after sixth form or at 16 after secondary school. But over here we see that as normal, however when I see Americans talking about people who don’t go to college/university they often describe them as dumb or under privileged when in the UK we see it as normal.
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Because our education and training systems are very different. Apprenticeships are used in far fewer fields here than in the UK.
They are used, and a certain class/media prejudice exists which causes “college educated” to subsitute in for “has a professional skill” in many discussions, but part of the reason for that is also the relative rarity I already mentioned above. Another significant reason is that college matriculation is well documented and easy to access demographic data for which means a great deal of research is done on outcomes or demographic differences strictly on educational attainment. It makes a lot of the news bites, cited studies and so on tilt that direction.
As a boy, I’m obligated to go to college in order to get more knowledge. If I don’t, I’ll be no better than a girl, who goes to Jupiter in order to get more stupider.
Because over here we’ve been pushed for decades to believe that working with your hands is for idiots and people who made bad life choices, as someone that works in the trades I’ve met old dudes with barely a high school education smarter than a lot of engineers
We have vastly different education systems, apprenticeships are far less common here and allow you to do relatively little compared to the UK.
Eh I regret going to college and wasting my time there and I wish it wasn’t pushed on us so much in high school.
My graduating class was boasting a 100% college acceptance rate after pushing everyone to at least apply. Theyd announce everyone’s college over the intercom and you didnt want to be the one “idiot” that didn’t go to college and seemingly had no plan.
I don’t think people who don’t go to college as dumb. I would even agrue that most Americans don’t think that. Most kids when they graduate don’t have a plan for the future so they go to college to “figure it out”. Someone might be considered dumb for doing nothing after high school. Like, no plans to learn a trade or anything.
I will say there is a correlation between the level of education an individual completes and their financial potential, so there might be a good reason why going to college is a good idea when you don’t know what else you want to do. I don’t know if this correlation is true in the UK, but I’m sure it does.
Off topic, but kind of related: I graduated from college myself just yesterday. It feels pretty good.
Median lifetime earnings of people with a college degree is around $1m higher than high school graduates. Median lifetime earnings for people with graduate degrees is $1.5m higher than high school graduate.
Because our educational industrial complex have convinced kids and parents that ‘You HAVE to go to college or you’ll be a penniless bum! Sign these loan forms and you’ll get to spend 4 years in a young adult educational disneyland resort full of sex and partying securing your future in an exciting and highly profitable careerfield!”
The only professions here that formally practice the apprenticeship model in the US are the skilled building trades: electricians, plumbers, and HVAC.
A lot of the jobs these days practically require some form of higher education. Apprenticeships are for trades that some, like me, didn’t have an interest in pursuing a career in. I’m not sure how “dumb” those who don’t go to college are. I don’t know their circumstances. I’ve seen a few idiots go to college, too. Look at Herschel Walker*.
*I feel a little bad because football probably gave him some brain damage. On the other hand, he says some really stupid shit.
I think you are confusing the context. You’re assuming that if an American isn’t going to college, they will go to an apprenticeship, where as often that isn’t the case. No one bats an eye at people who skip college and go do apprentice work or straight to a career field of work. The stereotype of people thinking said person is “dumb” is those that dont go to college that also dont go to work or anything else after highschool.
It’s an available pathway to better your financial situation without being in a job where your body will potentially break down in your 40s.
Besides what’s been said about completely different education and licensing systems, [over 37% of UK 18 year olds](https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/record-levels-young-people-accepted-university#:~:text=272%2C500%20UK%20students%20aged%2018,2020%20and%20a%20new%20record.&text=This%20means%2037.9%25%20of%20the,year's%20equivalent%20figure%20of%2036.4%25.) were starting undergrad programs last year.
We don’t think people that don’t go to college are dumb. Anyone who thinks that is the actual dumb person.
I’m rather uneducated on your apprenticeship programs, but essentially we have so many go to college since without a college degree your options to enter the workforce are severely limited. Most jobs that *should* require only a basic high school education require a bachelor’s degree to apply, and the ones that don’t are generally physical labor intensive, and while those pay more at the beginning, it’s not easy on the body, and there’s few “fall back plans”. Most parents will try and push their kids to go to college and get a degree because they’d prefer to see their children moderately comfortable in a decent job rather than to go and work in the trades – my grandfather made sure that he could send my dad to college for this reason. And my dad saw what the physical work he did did to his body, so he made sure I had at least some money put away for school by the time I was old enough to go
You don’t understand how the time you legally become an adult and are able to act independently from your family is important?
It’s important but I don’t see it as a must. People learn via different methods, and we learn this as we go through our path. People go to school, others learn via apprenticeship, and others are self-taught. There are many different paths to success that as you get older, you realize that it doesn’t really matter how you get there as long as you get there.
I feel like when I was younger, I did view university as the apex. Something you HAD to do but I know realize it was because I had it drilled into my brain at a young age. I felt stupid when I dropped out because of everyone telling me I needed to go to school.
I’m a self-taught web developer and like half of my team are also self-taught. The others went to school for their Bachelor’s in Computer Science. We really don’t care to be honest, what matters the most is if you know what you’re doing.
I think only 60% of highschool graduates enroll into college after highschool
Because this is a narcissistic country and having the ability to see yourself in a higher socioeconomic class is more important than not having debt and working a blue collar job.
Class signaling. Plus it significantly increases your opportunities for career growth. It’s a necessary prerequisite for any white-collar job that isn’t “starting your own business”. You will more than likely make more money over the course of a life-time if you complete your degree.
I think I read 50% of UK’s 18 year olds go to college so I don’t think the percentages are that much different.
According to statistics I looked up college attendance is about the same in the US and UK
> however when I see Americans talking about people who don’t go to college/university they often describe them as dumb or under privileged
Since when? lol
The world used to be different a generation and a half ago.
So much so that people forgot that manual labor can be a viable career.
The US is an economy with high levels of medical technology, pharmaceutical, high tech, and finance.
The UK economy is mostly retail, hospitality, and professional services.
That’s not to say the US doesn’t have those industries, but they are not the backbone of the national economy.
To work in the US, you are more likely to need a college degree than someone in the UK.
I think the premise of this question is flawed considering the UK and US have nearly identical rates of people getting a higher education.